


Hopeless

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha!Erwin, Arranged Marriage, Dubious Consent, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Heat Cycles, Knotting, Literally All, M/M, Omega!Levi, Omegaverse, So Many Tropes Guys, dubcon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-02 18:42:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4070503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In response to the dwindling population of humanity, the government of Sina has enacted the Hope Act, which enables them to force an Alpha and Omega to enter into a mating bond. University professor Levi Ackerman has been stirring up some controversy on campus, and Commander Smith has always been a threat to the security of the government. Pairing them together should keep them both so distracted that they'll finally stop causing trouble. Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Hope Act

The sun was just beginning to slink behind Wall Sina as Levi made his way home from the university. His classes had finished much earlier in the day, but he stayed late one day of the week to supervise AGE, a student organization officially known as the Association for Gender Equality. 

He knew that many of the students only came to meetings to get extra credit for his Gender Relations class, but he hoped by the end of the year that at least a few of the brats would feel some passion. They exasperated him; most were alphas and betas that had never even considered that many of the assumptions they had about society could be fucked up. Not many omegas in Sina ever made it to university.

His feet worked on automatic even as his mind wandered to the club’s plans for a rally two weeks from today. They would be protesting outside of the capital building on the same day that the Hope Act had been signed into law 15 years ago. Levi barely restrained a disgusted noise as he thought of how ironic that name was. Titans had decimated the human population when they were at large, and as a solution the Hope Act allowed the government to pair together any two unmated alpha and omega over the age of 22. This was justified by the claim that it would help “rebuild the dwindling population of humanity.”

Levi fully supported humanity, he just didn’t believe in being an asshole about it. 

He stopped at the mailbox outside of his house and pulled out a couple of envelopes before unlocking the door to his home and stepping inside. He threw the envelopes onto the table and went to the sink, pumping soap into his hands to cleanse the gunk of the day off his hands. 

After thoroughly rinsing his hands he got the fire going, placing the tea kettle over the flames to start the water boiling. His boots were placed in his closet carefully and the jacket he had been wearing was hung up neatly. 

He poured himself a cup of tea, placing it next to him at the table to cool. Finally, he returned to the innocuous mail he had received this afternoon. His brow furrowed as he looked at the sender. In fine black ink the corner of the envelopes both read Sina Hope Association. 

One envelope was thick and heavy, obviously containing a lot more paperwork than the other. He opened the thin one first, sliding his finger beneath the wax seal and pulling out the letter within. 

Mr. Levi Ackerman,   
We regret to inform you that your application for exemption from the Hope Act has been denied. Despite your position as an educator it has come to our attention that you have recently had your 27th birthday. The window of male omega fertility is limited and granting another five-year exemption would likely result in no future offspring. We appreciate your efforts as a teacher but we hope you will agree that the future of humanity is just as, if not more, important.   
Upon the denial of your exemption form your name has been submitted to the Hope Association for pairing prospects. You should receive notice of your upcoming mating details within a month of receiving this letter.   
Highest Regards,  
Hope Association Exemption Office

Levi could feel his heart rate start to pick up as he read through the letter, anger starting to push through his veins. This was fucking insane. He pushed the piece of paper away from him and violently ripped open the other envelope. 

Mr. Levi Ackerman,   
We are pleased to inform you that you have been paired with an Alpha…

He jerked back, his chair clattering to the floor. He threw the contents of the envelope across the room, unable to read the rest. The feeling of paper leaving his hands wasn’t satisfying enough and before he quite realized what was happening, the cup of tea was flying across the room as well. The crash of porcelain against the wall was a little better, but it was still doing nothing to keep the fury rising in him contained. 

His breathing came in short gasps, his knuckles turning white where they were tightly gripping the table. 

“Shit.” he muttered to himself as he looked over at the mess he’d made. Tea was all over the floor, surrounded by the broken remains of his teacup. He forced himself to slow his breathing, shutting his eyes tight as he pried his fingers off the edge of the table. 

He made quick work of the teacup, picking up the shards carefully with a towel to protect his fingers. The tea was harder; it seemed that no matter how aggressively he scrubbed at it the darkness wouldn’t come off the floor. He could feel that it was still there. 

In the back of his mind he was aware of the front door opening, but he would deal with that once this damn mess was cleaned up. 

“Levi?” he heard Farlan call his name. 

“Just a moment, I’m just getting this cleaned up.” he snapped back, pushing the abrasive sponge harder into the floor. 

There was a rustling as Farlan took off his coat, probably leaving it on a chair somewhere, the bastard. He would put that away as soon as he was done. 

“Levi.” Farlan said, stilling Levi’s hands with his own. 

“You need to stop.”

It wasn’t until Farlan pulled the dripping sponge away from him that Levi realized his hands were rubbed raw. The sun that had still been peeking over the wall when he opened the letters had now completely disappeared. 

Farlan dropped the sponge into his cleaning bucket and put them both outside the door. In his other hand was the damn envelope. 

“They denied your request?” he asked.

“Obviously.” Levi snarled, irritated and embarrassed. 

“We could get you out of here.”

“And then what Farlan?” Levi replied, his voice breaking just a little, “Do you know what happens to omegas on the run? I would have to leave the interior, go to one of those ass-backwards hick towns where people are even more idiotic than they are here. At least in Sina I can teach; between Rose and Maria the only occupations for an omega are mother and whore.” 

“Nobody has to know.” Farlan insisted, “If we can find a strong enough suppressant you’d smell just like a beta.”

“And how in the fuck do you suggest that we get our hands on enough high-grade suppressants to keep my stink under control until I’m too old to produce slick?”   
Farlan dropped his gaze and sighed, “Listen, I don’t know how yet but we’re going to get out of this, okay? Now let’s fix up your hands and then we’ll both sleep on it. There’s nothing we can do tonight.”

Levi was tempted to argue, he could hardly just slip into bed when his entire future had just been thrown down the shitter. But once Farlan had mentioned going to sleep he had suddenly realized that he was very tired. His shoulders drooped and he sunk down to sit against the wall. 

Farlan left to go get the little jar of cream that he claimed was for his own cracked hands, but both of them knew that it was actually for situations like this one. Levi scooped a little onto his fingers, wincing as he rubbed it into his burning hands. 

“I’ll leave this next to your bed. Call me if you need me during the night.”

Levi nodded, thankful that Farlan was no longer pushing the issue. He watched his friend retreat behind the door to his bedroom, letting his head fall back once he was sure Farlan was no longer watching. 

His hands pulsed dully and he could tell that his knees would ache tomorrow. But both of those feelings were eclipsed by a gnawing anxiety that was starting to crawl into his gut, slowly replacing the anger with nearly overwhelming fear. 

Levi roughly pushed himself off the floor, stubbornly ignoring the feeling as he got ready for bed. He and Farlan would figure something out, he told himself; they would fix this.


	2. The Commander

“Holy shit, Levi, did you even look at who you’re supposed to be married to?”

Levi gave his roommate a deadpan glare over his morning tea, “I wasn’t exactly keen to read all about whoever is supposed to be knocking me up.”

“Well you should have.” Farlan continued, ignoring the pissy tone. “Apparently he’s some big shot in the military, he was in the Survey Corp when they made the breakthrough with the Titans. He was a major factor in their eradication.”

“Well isn’t that just delightful. I’ve been promised to some military meathead.”

“I don’t think so, Levi, I’ve heard this guys name. He’s given the monarchy here some major trouble with some of his strategic coups. Have you ever heard of Erwin Smith?”  
Levi’s eyes widened, “Erwin Smith of the Survey Corp?”

“I already said that, yes.”

“Well he wasn’t just ‘in’ the Survey Corp, Farlan, he’s the commander and has been for several years now. We talk about him sometimes in my Gender Relations class. He has some revolutionary policies on omegas in the military, and he’s been an active Alpha voice in the fight for equality. What the fuck is a man like that doing in the pool for arranged matings?”

Farlan shrugged, “Maybe he’s like you, he didn’t have a choice.”

Levi snorted, “Alpha’s do whatever the fuck they want, if he really wanted to get out of it he could. It’s a shame, I thought the guy was really on our side.”

He got up and put his cup in the sink, “I’m going to class, try to think of some escape plans while I’m away, will you? And clean that shit pile you call a room. I can smell your stench from the kitchen.”

“Why would I do that when I know that if I leave it long enough you’ll do it for me?”

Levi gave a long suffering, “I’m not your mother.”

Farlan smirked, “Sure you’re not.”  
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
As usual, Levi left his classroom grumbling. After an hour and a half lecture to a group of bored students he was never able to remember why he had chosen to teach. In times like this he usually attributed it to the fact that teaching was one of the few fields where omegas were really allowed to be successful. Of course, that wasn’t quite true. But he would acknowledge that later on, when he was in a better mood. 

He chose to take the long way home today, enjoying the feeling of smooth dirt paths under his boots rather than the uneven clacking of cobblestone. The combination of fresh air and a long walk managed to drum the irritation out of him, unfortunately that just cleared up room in his head for anxiety. 

The paperwork from the Hope Association had scheduled his “wedding” for a mere three months from now. He couldn’t understand why they were pushing this all along so fast. As far as he knew, these things usually took at least a year. Maybe he was so old they were worried about his uterus shriveling up and crawling away before he had a chance to get knocked up. 

As the evening got colder his feet led him to his front door, which he found unlocked. He rolled his eyes; Farlan was always so careless. It seemed like every other day he was either leaving the house open or locking himself out. One of these days they were going to be robbed blind and Levi wouldn’t even blame the thieves for taking advantage of his roommate’s idiocy.

He stepped inside, then paused for a moment. It smelled… nice. Farlan must have taken his advice and actually cleaned up. But it didn’t smell like cleaning products, more like… oh my God, why was one of them here?

Now that he had identified the smell, he could pick out that the smooth scent of Alpha was coming form the kitchen. His mind raced as he took in the smell; Farlan hadn’t mentioned that he had invited anyone over and the door had been unlocked. He scanned the area around him for something that could cause some damage. 

He crept over to the little closet next to the door where they kept the fire poker when it wasn’t being used. He grasped the handle tightly with both hands, holding it above his head and taking a deep breath to steel himself. 

He stepped into the doorway to the kitchen, looking for the source of the offensive smell permeating his home. His eyes widened as they took in an offensively large blond man sitting at his kitchen table innocently, as if he belonged there. 

“Who the fuck are you?” he spat, raising the poker threateningly. 

The man looked up, “Oh good, you’re home. I hope you don’t mind that I let myself in. The door was unlocked and it was getting a little breezy outside. My name is Erwin Smith.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed for a split second before he was moving forward, the poker swinging toward the alpha’s face. In the moment it took him to move from the door to the table, Erwin was up, his hand catching the metal rod before it could make contact. 

“Get out of my house!” Levi shouted, trying to yank his weapon back. 

“I just want to talk, Levi. There’s no reason to be alarmed.” Erwin tried to explain, releasing the fire poker and raising his hands in a gesture of peace. 

As soon as the other man had let go, Levi swung it backwards and tried to hit him again, this time aiming for his side. But once again Erwin managed to get his hands down to the poker before it could hit him. 

Levi snarled in frustration, trying desperately to pull the rod out of Erwin’s hands. But the alpha had learned his lesson this time and didn’t let go. 

“Please calm down, Professor Ackerman, I’m sorry I came into your home without permission but I really didn’t think your reaction would…”

He was interrupted by Levi abruptly giving up on the fire poker. The sudden release of tension set him off balance and the omega took advantage of the moment to barrel into him, sending both of them crashing to the floor. 

Levi grinned triumphantly as he drew a fist back to pitch it into Erwin’s face, but before he could throw the punch Erwin had flipped them around, pinning Levi to the ground instead. 

He wriggled violently trying to get out of the steel trap that had suddenly formed around him. Erwin quickly secured his flailing arms to the floor as well, and Levi was enraged to see that his face showed more exasperation than effort. 

“Get the fuck off of me!” he snarled. 

“You should really try to avoid fighting military officers three times your size in the future, Professor.” Erwin replied, ignoring Levi’s order. 

“I’ll fight whoever the fuck I want, you piece of shit. If you don’t get off me right now I’ll castrate you, I swear to God.”

Erwin sighed, “I’d like to let you up, Levi. But thus far you’ve not given me a single reason to believe that you won’t attack me as soon as you’re off the floor.”

“Damn right I will, now get out my house.” 

“I just want to talk to you. Please, I think that we can turn this whole unfortunate situation into something that will benefit the both of us. I will let you up if you promise that you won’t try to hurt me and you’ll sit down to have a conversation with me.”

Levi remained obstinately silent, glaring instead. 

Erwin raised an eyebrow and stayed equally quiet, waiting for Levi to respond. The silence grew uncomfortably long as both men tried to outlast the other in pure stubbornness. 

Finally Levi acknowledged that he was at the disadvantage and said, “Whatever. I won’t kill you as soon as you let me up. Now get off of me.”

“Will you talk to me?”

Levi rolled his eyes, “Yeah, sure, whatever it takes to get you back out that door.”

Erwin smiled, “Wonderful.” He let go of Levi’s wrist and stood up, offering a hand to help the omega stand as well. Levi ignored him and stood by himself, tightly crossing his arms across his chest. 

“Please, take a seat.” he said sarcastically, plopping down in a chair himself. 

Erwin accepted the invitation, retaking the seat he had been in when Levi had attacked him.

“So, I’m sure that you’re aware that the two of us have been matched by the Hope Association to be married in a matter of months.”

“Tch. Of course I am, I got the letter. God, you’d think they could have at least paired me with someone attractive.”

Erwin ignored the insult, “Well, after receiving my own letter I did some research on you, Professor Ackerman. And when I learned about your work on gender equality, I became suspicious that perhaps ours was not just a random match. You see, I’m Commander of the Survey Corp, the group responsible for eliminating the Titan problem. We haven’t proven it yet, but we are also working on exposing the government of Sina for being behind the creation of the Titans in the first place.”

Levi, who had been pouting a little up until this point by crossing his arms and looking at the wall, suddenly became attentive. “Excuse me?”

Erwin nodded, “It’s all very hush-hush at the moment, but I’m sure that Sina suspects us of working against them.”

“But what does that have to do with our match?” Levi asked.

“I think that they believe that having a mate will distract the both of us. They think that you’ll get knocked up and be unable to teach or participate in activism. And then I will begin to neglect my duties as Commander, as well as the Sina investigation, in order to take care of my new family. That’s why this is all happening so fast, they want us incapacitated as quickly as possible.”

Levi sat back in his chair, “Well they can shove that idea straight back up their asses. And so can you, if you think for even a second that I’m having your babies.”

Erwin chuckled, “No, that wasn’t what I had in mind. Actually, I believe that if the two of us work together this may be one of the stupidest moves the government has ever made. Think about it, Levi. I’m the commander of an army and you’re an activist among the youth. The two most volatile groups in society, the military and the young- together they would be unstoppable.”

“What exactly are you suggesting, Erwin?”

The alphas eyes flashed and he grinned, “I’m suggesting that the two of us can start a revolution.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, I'm so excited about this fic! Mostly because I am Omegaverse trash, but that's irrelevant. Anyways, I plan on updating once a week, unfortunately I can't pick a specific day because college is unpredictable- but it should be sometime between Tuesday and Thursday each week.


	3. A Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! It's marriage time!

The alpha’s eyes flashed and he grinned, “I’m suggesting that the two of us can start a revolution.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed, “Are you crazy? Are you actually suggesting that we full on overthrow the government with the power of morality?”

Erwin shook his head, “We’re not going to overthrow anyone, Levi. I’m merely suggesting we give the people a little shove, so that they overthrow the government.”

“So what you’re saying is, ‘Yes, I am fucking crazy.’”

“Listen, if we can get the government off of our backs by tricking them into thinking we’re preoccupied with being newly mated…”

“Wait a second,” Levi interrupted, “This plan involves us complying with the order and getting married?”

Erwin nodded, “Yes, we’ll have to in order to…”

“Nope. Fuck off. Get out of my house.” Levi stood up, marching out of the kitchen and throwing open the front door. 

“Levi…”

“Get out!” Levi shouted back, looking like he was moments away from becoming aggressive again. 

Erwin sighed and stood up, putting on the coat that had been hanging off the back of his chair.

He paused just as he was about to go out the door, leaning in close to speak softly, “I know this is scary for you, Levi. But I encourage you to look closely at your options and decide if running away is really better than marrying one of the only alphas in Sina that is willing to give you your freedom. We both know what happens to runaway omegas, and I doubt bending over for money will be pleasant.”

Levi gritted his teeth, refusing to look into Erwin’s eyes. 

The alpha sighed and looked away, pulling his coat tighter around himself as he prepared to go out into the cool air. 

He hadn’t taken more than a couple steps outside of the threshold, when he heard Levi shouting at him, “Wait!”

He spun around and saw Levi still standing in the doorway, holding himself rigidly. 

“I’ll do it.” he said reluctantly, his jaw clenched tightly. 

Erwin started back towards Levi, but the omega snarled angrily, “No, don’t you dare come back in. I don’t want to see you again until whatever godforsaken day they’ve picked out for   
us to… Just stay away from me until then!”

Erwin flinched a little as the door was slammed loudly. But as he walked away from Levi’s house, he felt a grin spreading across his face. It was unfortunate that his intended was so opposed to their match, but he didn’t think it would impede his plan much. In just a few months they would be married, and then Erwin could really start working. 

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Winter came fast this year, and Levi watched in a near panic as day after day passed with alarming speed. He drowned himself in work, spending more and more hours at the university, claiming that it was because his students were particularly dull this semester and needed more individual help. But truthfully they were no more stupid than usual, although they did take advantage of his increased office hours with gratitude. 

Every time he went home Farlan pestered him about his decision to go through with the marriage. 

“I thought we were going to figure this out, Levi! Just because this pompous dickhead thinks that this is a good idea, doesn’t mean you have to listen to him. You don’t have to do this!”

“Yes I do, Farlan!” He would always shout back, bile rising in his throat as he thought of Erwin’s parting words, "I doubt bending over for money will be pleasant."

The worst part was that Levi knew that the alpha was right. His own mother had worked desperately to keep both of them alive. He remembered being handed off to one of the other omegas they lived with whenever his mother had a ‘customer.’ He remembered the stench that would return with her; alcohol, musk, and desperation. He remembered watching her waste away because one of her customers had given her something. Something the doctors couldn’t fix. 

He had presented as an omega only a couple years after her death, and he would never forget the fear that had overcome him as he realized that his mother’s curse was now a part of him too. 

So he ignored Farlan’s protests and continued to just pretend like nothing had changed. 

There were always reminders, though. A week after Erwin's visit a letter had come from the Hope Association informing him in a cheery tone that because Erwin was a celebrated military hero (that had made Levi snort to himself) they would be receiving a full size wedding, courtesy of the king. Normally pairs matched by the Hope Act would only receive a small ceremony with a priest provided for them and a couple witnesses from the Association. But Levi wasn’t so lucky. 

About a month before the wedding an actual tailor, of all people, showed up at his door, insisting that he needed to take his measurements. Levi had glared at the poor man throughout the entire process, making snide comments whenever he tried to make small talk. The day that he brought the clothing for an actual fitting was even more nightmarish, with Farlan coming home at the exact moment that one sleeve had been pinned up to the correct length, and the other was still hanging limply over his hand. Levi had practically ripped the clothing off when his roommate started snickering, snarling at the tailor to leave. 

His wedding was scheduled for a Sunday, so the day before there was no classes to distract him. Farlan had taken both Saturday and Sunday off of work, claiming that he wanted to be there for moral support. But Levi knew that he was being watched carefully, and his overprotective roommate was waiting for him to descend into a panic. 

Truthfully, he might have let the anxiety get to him if he wasn’t stubbornly putting on a brave face, refusing to show the slightest crack in his façade. 

“I’ll do dishes tonight, Levi.” Farlan said casually as they finished dinner. 

Levi glared, “Why? Are you afraid I’ll drown myself in the sink?”

Farlan sighed, “Actually, I’m afraid you’ll scrub all your skin off with lye. Now give me your damn plate.”

Levi cursed under his breath, but did as he was told. As much as he hated to admit it, he really probably shouldn’t be allowed near cleaning products at the moment. He got… just a little obsessive sometimes. 

He went to bed early, mainly to avoid the pitying glances that were being thrown his way every thirty minutes or so. His room felt too small, and although the air was cold, he couldn’t bear to put on blankets; they restricted him in a way that felt suffocating. So he spent the night on top of his quilt, shivering quietly as he tried to stop thinking about his wedding tomorrow.   
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There was no time to panic in the morning. A carriage picked him up to take him to the palace at 7am. The day passed in a blur as he was shoved into a suit, his hair was combed and styled, and some woman tsked in despair over his face. Apparently his dark, tired eyes were impossible to brighten, no matter how much skin-colored goop she put under them. That had made him smirk a little, glad that his skin was feeling as rebellious as he was. 

Finally, the traditional silver cloak was put around his shoulders, and the hood was put over his perfectly quaffed hair. He hoped that the fabric would ruin it. And then he was in front of a pair of massive oak doors. 

He could hear soft music coming from the other side, and Levi imagined it was the same type of music that might be played at a funeral. He waited for the doors to open, his heart fluttering frantically. If he made a run for it right now, maybe there would be enough confusion that he could get away… No one was watching, he was sure they were all inside for the ceremony… He could run. 

But those awful words drifted back to him, “I doubt bending over for money will be pleasant…”

He clenched his sweaty hands into fists, forcing himself to breath normally and show the dickheads on the other side of this door that he was proud. He was unbreakable. And he would not show weakness. 

The doors opened and the music swelled. His chin shot into the air and he felt his expression crystalize into pure apathy. 

He could see Erwin and a Wall Priest standing at the end of the aisle. The alpha looked exactly how he remembered him in his kitchen- infuriatingly large and obnoxiously blond. He was wearing a gold cape that didn’t have a hood, subtly symbolizing his superiority in their relationship. 

The music abruptly stopped when he stepped up onto the risen platform where Erwin was waiting for him. The alpha tried to smile at him, but Levi avoided his gaze, eyes cold. 

“We have the privilege of gathering today within the interior of our precious walls to declare the marriage of these two servants of Sina. The sacred bonding of Alpha and Omega is our greatest hope for new life and…”

Levi tuned out at that point, focusing instead on trying to find a familiar face in the crowd. Finally, in a corner near the back he located a few friends. Farlan was there of course, with his arm secured tightly around his girlfriend, Isabel. A small group of his students were here as well; Armin sitting conspicuously between Eren and Jean. He had to fight off the sudden urge to laugh, imagining the two rambunctious boys starting a fight in the middle of the ceremony. 

He was torn out of his thoughts by the priest clearing his throat. He became aware of the silence in the hall, realizing that he must be expected to do something. Fuck, he hadn’t been to a wedding in ages, what was supposed to be happening?

He looked to Erwin for help, and squinted in confusion when the alpha directed his eyes pointedly to the ground, what was that supposed to mean?

“Would you please kneel for the removal of your hood, Omega?” the priest said, seemingly annoyed at having to repeat himself. 

Levi continued to stand still for a moment, trying to swallow the knot that had appeared in his throat. 

“Kneel, Levi.” Erwin hissed at him.

He sunk to his knees, feeling his face grow hot as all of the people in attendance watched him kneel in front of this man he didn’t even know. His students were here, what would they think of him after this? God, they would never be able to respect him again…

“Stop it!” 

Levi’s head snapped up as he heard a shout ring out from the back of the room. 

“Stand up Professor! You don’t have to kneel for any of these people!”

He closed his eyes in exasperation as he realized that he recognized that voice. Eren had always been stupidly impulsive. 

“That man doesn’t deserve you! Stand up and tell them, Professor, stand up and tell them…”

Eren’s voice was abruptly cut off with the sound of a loud smack that made Levi flinch. He dearly hoped that Mikasa had been the one to shut him up and not some Military Police thug. 

The hall was perfectly silent for a moment after Eren’s outburst, but then Levi felt warm hands reaching out and lifting the silver hood off his head. Everyone seemed to start breathing again as the ceremony continued. 

“You may now stand, Omega,” the priest said, and Levi rose gracefully back to his feet. 

The priest reached behind him to where two black boxes lay on an ornate alter and picked up the larger of the pair, opening it to reveal a silver cuff. 

“Levi Ackerman, do you swear to devote yourself to this man and serve him for the remainder of your days?”

For the first time since the ceremony began, Levi made eye contact with Erwin. He glared at him, and spat, “Yes.”

“Alpha, you may now place this bracelet on your Omega’s wrist.” 

Erwin did as he was told, picking the cuff up off the velvet cushion that it rested on. He undid the clasp on the bottom, then picked up Levi’s limp arm and secured the cuff onto his wrist. 

“Erwin Smith, do you swear to devote yourself to this man and protect him for the remainder of your days?”

Erwin replied softly, “I do.”

“Omega, you may now put this ring on your Alpha’s finger.”

The priest had picked up the second box and opened it for Levi to remove the ring. He picked up the gold piece of jewelry and obediently placed it on Erwin’s hand. 

“By the power invested in me as a servant of the Walls, I now declare you mates.”

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Levi was dismayed to discover that now they had to go to a party. Under the glimmering lights he did exactly what was expected of him- holding onto Erwin’s arm for the majority of the time. Occasionally they had to go dance, and Levi found himself flinching each time Erwin’s large hand closed around his waist. 

Finally, finally, they were allowed to leave. A carriage was waiting for them outside, ready to take them to their new home- another gift from the king.

As soon as the door of the coach had been shut, Erwin tried to start talking. “Levi, I’m so glad that you chose not to run away. I really think that…” He was interrupted by Levi slamming a hand over his mouth. 

“Listen. Back there I played the role of your sweet little bitch, but you can bet your ass that when the King isn’t breathing down our necks I will be doing no such thing. I am furious with you and if you so much as breathe on me, I will kill you and make it look like an accident. So. Don’t. Talk.”

Levi took his hand off of Erwin’s mouth, slouching back into his seat and turning his head to stare out the window. 

Erwin watched him for a moment, but then with a sigh he turned to his own window and decided this was a battle he would fight another day.


	4. Heat Pt. 1

It was actually surprisingly easy to live with each other. Nothing much changed, Levi went to the university every morning and came home every evening and Erwin was almost never around. They woke up at the same time, but the Commander usually came home long after Levi had already retreated to his own room. 

But they had to eat breakfast together, and Levi was finding it more and more difficult to just ignore the larger man. 

“Good morning, Levi.” He would always say, freshly shaven but still dressed in his nightclothes. 

It felt wrong to see Erwin in his pajamas, like all of the intimidating authority he normally exuded had been stripped away. 

Levi normally grunted in response, but Erwin would ignore his terseness and continue making light conversation, “Remember to wear a scarf when you go out today, the wind has been brutal. I’d hate for you to get frostbite because you insist on walking to campus every morning. My offer of a carriage still stands, by the way.”

“I don’t have a scarf.”

Erwin looked up in surprise, Levi never answered. 

It took him a moment, but he quickly recovered, “Oh. Well you can certainly borrow one of mine. And if you’d like, we can go shopping for one of your own when neither of us is working.”

For some reason that suggestion irritated Levi, “I can go buy a scarf by myself. And I don’t want one of yours, either.”

“I’m afraid I have to insist, Levi, it’s too cold…”

“Don’t.” Levi snarled, “Don’t fucking tell me what to do.” He dropped his empty bowl into the sink and stalked away, slamming the door to his room. 

He finished getting ready jerkily, annoyed both with Erwin and with himself. Damn alpha should mind his own business. But he really hadn’t deserved the outburst. 

When he finally emerged from his room, Erwin was gone. But on the table in the kitchen there was thick, wool scarf. Levi glared at it for a moment, before picking it up and wrapping   
it around his neck. After all, Erwin had been right about the freezing wind. 

The smell of Erwin on his skin distracted him for the rest of the day.   
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""  
Their noses recognized what was happening before either Levi or Erwin did. 

They should have recognized the signs. New blankets kept appearing on Levi’s bed, and when he asked about it in the morning, Erwin would just shrug and say he’d found them in his closet and wanted Levi to be warm at night. Levi kept the blankets, indulging his desire to burrow under them and enjoy their comforting smell. 

He found that he couldn’t fall asleep until he heard Erwin come home. Anxiety started to ball up in his stomach when the alpha came home later than usual. He told himself that it was because Erwin had a risky job, and that it was normal to worry just a little. But he really should’ve known better.   
He didn’t figure it out until he woke up sweating, curled tightly around his abdomen. He felt like his body was burning up with fever, and with a wince he realized that he was… leaking. 

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Levi muttered, shoving the mountain of blankets off of his scorching body. He hobbled to the door and turned the lock, then opened his top drawer to look at the box of pills that he took faithfully every morning. The expiration date on his suppressants wasn’t for another 6 months, why the hell weren’t they working?

Levi groaned as something within him contracted and a fresh wave of slick dripped down his ass. He got back into bed, breathing deeply and trying to ignore both the pain in his stomach and the aching hardness of his dick. He hadn’t had a heat since he’d run away, and he’d nearly forgotten how much this hurt. 

“Levi?” Erwin knocked softly, and Levi felt dueling surges of panic and desire as he realized that an alpha was outside. 

“Levi, are you alright?”

“What do you fucking think? Is your nose as broken as your brain?” he snapped, “Send a message to the school that I’ll be gone for a few days. Don’t tell them why, make up some other excuse.”

“Do you… Do you have everything you need? Water? Food? And… toys?”

“Shit, Erwin, could you be a little more subtle? Yes, I have a dildo in here. Now get out of the house.”

“Okay. I’ll arrange to sleep somewhere else for a few days. But I’m going to come check on you in the evenings. I’ll bring… supplies.”

Levi didn’t bother to reply, and Erwin stood awkwardly outside the door, holding his shirt firmly over his nose. He knew that the silence was his cue to leave but his feet felt like they were glued to the floor. Even stronger than the intoxicating scent of heat, was the worrying smell of fear and anxiety. Although Levi wasn’t his mate, the smell of distressed omega was still producing a reaction. 

“Stupid.” Erwin told himself, “As if you have any idea how to comfort anyone. What’s your plan if you stay here? Throw blankets at him until he feels better?”

He forced himself to back away from the door, retreating to his own bedroom to throw on clothes. With every passing minute it was getting harder to ignore both the smells of distress and heat. He skipped breakfast and headed for the door, pausing in the entryway for just a moment. 

But Levi wanted him to leave. So he did. 

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""  
“Levi?” Erwin called when he got home, hoping that the omega could still hear his muffled voice through the mouth/nose mask he’d fashioned for himself. 

“Levi? I brought you some condensed protein bars- I talked to a friend and she said that you needed the calories. And some purified water, I know we usually use the well but Hanji also said that you might be prone to infection right now. I’ll just leave all this on the table, you don’t have to come out…”

Erwin jumped as he felt alarmingly hot hands wind around his waist. Levi pressed himself against Erwin’s back, inhaling deeply with his face buried between Erwin’s shoulders. 

Erwin froze and tried to ignore the smell that was now creeping past his homemade mask. 

“Levi. What are you doing?”

“What the fuck do you think I’m doing, alpha? I’m propositioning you. God, Erwin, I need you.”

Erwin shut his eyes, taking a deep breath and immediately regretting doing so when he got a lungful of heat-scent. But this wasn’t Levi and this wasn’t what Levi wanted. 

“No, Levi, we can’t. There’s no way you would agree to this at any other time. You can’t consent right now.”

Levi slunk around Erwin’s body so that he was clinging to his chest rather than his back, looking up into his eyes. Erwin had to shut his eyes again when he realized that Levi was wearing nothing but one of his shirts, the bottom just barely covering an inch or two of thigh. 

“Does that mean if I wasn’t in heat, you would say yes? Don’t lie. I want you Erwin, don’t you want me? Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t want to fuck me into the mattress.”

Erwin forced himself to open his eyes and look only at Levi’s face. “All of that is irrelevant. I won’t take advantage of you. Levi.”

The omega switched gears, his face changing from sensual to pleading in a moment. “God, Erwin, please. It hurts.”

And damn, if that wasn’t effective. But Erwin knew just enough about Levi to know that fact that the omega had actually resorted to begging meant that he certainly wasn’t in his normal state of mind. 

“Levi, I’m sorry, but I can’t and I know when this is over you’ll be glad that we didn’t.” He tugged himself away from the Levi, and winced when the smaller man whimpered. “I’ll be back tomorrow evening. I promise.” 

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""  
Levi was fairly certain that he was dying. He didn’t just feel feverish anymore; he was burning within the fiery depths of hell. His toys had been effective for all of three hours before he might as well have been grinding against thin air for all the satisfaction it gave him. 

It didn’t help that the entire house reeked of Erwin. The smell of alpha was fucking everywhere, and it simultaneously made him feel a little better and a hell of a lot worse. He’d given in and snuck into Erwin’s room to snatch one of his shirts. When he was feeling particularly bad he would bury his face in the collar and inhale as hard as he could. 

Heat shouldn’t be this bad for this long, Levi knew that. He’d always assumed that when people recommended that omegas go off suppressants and have a heat at least once a year that they were just being stupid. After all, he didn’t care much about fertility. But he was starting to suspect that there might have actually been more to that than he thought. 

Erwin was getting worried too. He had the audacity to keep coming home in the evenings even after he’d rejected Levi. When Levi was lucid enough to really think about what had happened his face burned with embarrassment. But most of the time he didn’t have enough presence of mind to be ashamed- only angry and horny. 

“Levi?” Erwin was knocking on his door again. “Could you please talk to me?”

“What the fuck do you want to discuss?”

“Hanji says this isn’t normal. After a couple days you should be almost back to normal. This is day three and I can smell that you’re still the same, so don’t lie about it getting better. She told me to ask you how long you had been on suppressants and if you’d taken your heat last year.”

Levi was quiet.

“Levi? Please, Hanji’s very knowledgeable, I’m sure that she can help you if we just give her the information that she needs. I’m trying to convince her to come over here and talk to you herself, but she insists that bringing in more alpha hormones will just make things worse for you…”

“You can tell your weird friend that I’ve been on suppressants since I was nineteen- so nine years. And I haven’t had a heat since then.”

There was silence on the other side of the door for a moment. 

“You haven’t had a heat in nine years?” Erwin’s voice had gone dangerously quiet. Levi didn’t reply. 

“I’m going to get Hanji. Both of us will be back as soon as we can. Eat something.”

Levi heard Erwin get up and practically run out the door, closing it with a bang. 

It was ridiculous, but every time Erwin had left the house while he was in heat, Levi felt the sting of rejection hit him hard. This time was no exception, and he felt tears prick the corners of his eyes as he felt another brutal wave of heat coming on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. Down the rabbit hole of depravity.


	5. Heat Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This is the chapter responsible for the Dubious Consent tag. Although both parties are willing to participate in this debauchery, they are under the influence of a biological imperative that clouds their judgment and makes them do things they may not do otherwise. So if that makes you squeamish, it might be a good idea to sit this one out.

Erwin threw on his coat and rushed out the door, breaking into a run when he got out onto the street. He considered going to hospital rather than retrieving Hanji, but he was pretty sure that Levi could get in a lot of trouble for suppressing heats for so long. There were laws that were supposed to protect omegas from infertility by forcing them to comply with doctor recommendations. And taking suppressants for nine damn years definitely did not comply with doctor recommendations.

_Levi is going to be fine._ Erwin reassured himself as he sprinted through the narrow streets of Sina. _Hanji is an expert on this kind of thing, she’ll be able to fix him up just fine._

But despite his internal monologue, Erwin was panicking. Why the hell hadn’t Levi told him this as soon as he’d gone into heat? Although the main concern with prolonged use of suppressants was the inability to have children later, there were other risks as well. He’d always thought they were exaggerated to make omegas scared of skipping too many heats, but based on the amount of pain Levi smelled like he was in, maybe not.

Finally, Erwin found himself on the street where Hanji lived. He pounded on her door, breathing in short, sharp gasps as he tried to catch his breath in the cold, thin air. Moblit answered the door, grinning when he saw who it was but quickly realizing something wasn’t right.

“Hey, Erwin! Wait… what’s wrong?”

Erwin ignored the question, “Where’s Hanji? I need her. Now.”

“Um, okay.” he turned and yelled over his shoulder, “Zoe? You need to come downstairs. Erwin is here.”

He heard Hanji pound down the stairs, looking enthused that he had come to visit her.

“What brings you to my humble abode, Commander? Did you decide to ditch Mike and come stay with me while your wifey is in heat?”

Erwin pushed his way past Moblit, and started pulling Hanji towards the door, “We need to go. I need you to come help Levi…”

Hanji pulled her hand away, shaking her head stubbornly, “No way, Erwin, I told you more alpha hormones are the last thing that poor boy needs right now.”

“You don’t understand!” Erwin snapped, “He just told me that he hasn’t had a heat in nine years. He’s been on suppressants since he was nineteen, Hanji, isn’t that dangerous?”

But Hanji was already putting on her coat, pushing him aside to get out the door.

She wasn’t talking, which Erwin knew from experience was not a good sign. He followed her outside, not even taking the time to close the door behind them.

“Did he tell you what grade of suppressants they were?” Hanji asked him as they ran together.

“No, I didn’t think to ask.”

They fell into silence, setting a punishing pace back to the house.

As soon as they arrived, Hanji pushed the door open and demanded, “Where is he?”

Erwin pointed towards the stairs, slapping his other hand over his mouth and nose. As soon as he had come in the smell of Levi’s heat had slammed into him and he was desperately searching for his scented handkerchief while he held his breath. The dark, primal part of his brain was daring him to breathe, to take a deep breath that would leave him at the mercy of an onslaught of hormones. Finally, he found where he had thrown the handkerchief when he left, and after tying it tightly across his nose, he followed Hanji up the stairs.

Levi’s door was open and Erwin could see Hanji leaning over the omega, touching his forehead and asking him questions fervently.

“Have you had any heats since you started taking suppressants, Levi? What strength were they? Did you stop taking them on purpose, or did they stop working?”

But Levi seemed to be incapable of speech at the moment, instead keening softly and pushing his head into Hanji’s hand when she reached down to take his temperature.

Erwin felt a confusing stab of anger as he saw Levi showing affection towards another alpha, but quickly pushed down the sudden urge to throw Hanji out of the room. Instead he started digging through Levi’s drawers, he’d never watched Levi take his medication downstairs at breakfast, and that meant they had to be here somewhere.

The box of suppressants wasn’t hard to find, they were sitting in the top drawer of his dresser.

“Hanji.” Erwin said shortly, tossing her the box when she turned to look at him.

She caught it and quickly scanned the information on the back.

“God damn it, Levi, are you kidding me? Erwin, I need to talk to you downstairs. Now.”

Hanji pushed away from the bed, but paused when Levi grabbed her hand, his eyes blown wide as he realized she was leaving.

Her eyes grew kind, “You’re going to be just fine, Levi. I’ll come back up in just a few minutes.”

She pulled her hand away from the incoherent omega and shouldered her way past Erwin out the door. He hastily followed her, closing Levi’s door behind him.

Hanji turned on him angrily, “Why didn’t you tell me he was this bad?”

“I tried, Hanji! You told me that this was normal!”

“Levi has almost a decades worth of hormones that he’s been suppressing. Luckily, those suppressants weren’t the highest dosage but they’re damn close and the fact that they failed worries me. Being around alpha hormones on a daily basis can overwhelm low-grade suppressants on a fairly regular basis, but these kind should have been able to hold out. His body is done being bossed around by medicine, and it’s done being bossed around by his mind too.”

“Well…” Erwin paused, “What are we supposed to do?”

Hanji sighed, “If you’re still resolutely against helping him, then I’m going to need you to leave so that I can.”

Erwin’s brain seemed to short-circuit for a moment, “You’re going to… what?”

“Don’t be an idiot, I’m going to go upstairs and fuck Levi so that he can get through this without seriously hurting himself. Omega’s can _die_ from this kind of shit, Erwin.”

Erwin was silent for a moment as he tried to process the situation. Hanji sighed in exasperation and headed back towards the stairs, looking like she was going to do exactly what she’d said.

Without thinking, Erwin shoved her shoulders into the wall, snarling threateningly. Immediately after realizing what he’d done, he stepped away from his friend, looking horrified at what had just happened.

“H-Hanji, I am so sorry.”

Hanji pushed him back, her own instincts insisting she not let herself be pushed around. “Don’t apologize, Erwin, just decide. If you can’t handle me doing it than you need to go up there yourself, and you need to choose quickly!”

Erwin’s eyes hardened, “No. I won’t choose.”

“Oh for God’s sake…”

“Stop. Levi is capable of deciding who he wants, and I'm not going to make that choice for him."

Hanji looked taken aback for a moment. “Oh. Yes, of course. You’re right, lets go ask him.”

They climbed the stairs again, and Erwin felt anxiety building in his stomach. What if Levi picked him? What if he _didn’t?_ It would probably be better for their relationship as… roommates… if he chose Hanji.

But just the thought of someone else taking Levi made his blood boil. Which was ridiculous. Because Levi wasn’t his.

Levi was exactly where they had left him, lying on his back with his hands pressed hard against his forehead. He was breathing hard, and every few seconds or so his muscles would suddenly tense and his back would arch a little off the bed.

Erwin cleared his throat, “Um, Levi. Hanji has deduced that the best thing for your health would be for one of us to… help you through this. Both of us are willing to assist you, so the decision of which of us will stay is up to you.”

Levi’s hands slowly fell away from his face and he rolled himself upright, his eyes settling on Hanji and Erwin in a predatory way. For the first time since his heat had started three days ago, Erwin could smell his anxiety level going down.

Levi took a deep breath, his eyes rolling back in his head a little as he took in the scent of both alphas in front of him.

“Erwin. I want Erwin."

Hanji grinned, “Well, that’s a relief. Have fun you two. I’ll come check on you guys in the morning to make sure Levi is doing better.” she darted out of the room, slamming the door behind her and Erwin heard the front door shut as well. They were alone.

He had a split second to feel awkward before Levi was on him.

The omega ripped off the handkerchief that was around his nose, throwing it on the floor. He shoved his nose into Erwin’s neck, inhaling deeply and mouthing at his throat.

Erwin couldn’t hold back a soft groan as the pure, untainted smell of desperate heat reached him. And Levi’s hot little mouth felt amazing against his neck.

Apparently Levi wasn’t the type to beat around the bush. Before Erwin was even quite sure what was happening, all of the buttons on his shirt were undone and Levi was pushing at the fabric, whining in frustration when he couldn’t get it off. Erwin shrugged off the shirt and decided that now was as good a time as any to shed his inhibitions as well.

He put one hand around Levi’s neck and one at the small of his back, pulling him closer as they sank into a kiss. Levi practically melted as he finally got the response he wanted from his alpha. He rocked gently into Erwin’s body, pressing his aching cock into the larger man’s thigh. God, he’d been hard for so long it was almost painful.

Erwin could feel the evidence of Levi’s arousal against him and felt his own body responding in kind. He moved his hands so they were braced against Levi’s thighs, then slapped lightly to communicate what he wanted.

Levi obediently jumped up, wrapping his legs around Erwin’s waist and moved his mouth back to the alpha’s throat so that he could carry him to the bed. He was surprised when Erwin didn’t just take him the few feet to his own bed, but took him out into the hall, then brought him into Erwin’s bedroom.

He stopped sucking on Erwin’s neck long enough to look up at him questioningly.

“You’ve been miserable in there for days and it stinks like anxiety.” Erwin said in response to the look, “And I want you in my bed.” Some distant corner of his brain was aware that perhaps that comment wasn’t appropriate. But his mind was becoming increasingly foggy, and he felt possessive and impulsive.

Levi nodded, then returned to his mission of becoming intimately familiar with Erwin’s ear.

Erwin deposited Levi onto his bed, kicked off his boots, then climbed on top of Levi and straddled his hips. His omega wasted no time getting to work on his belt, rutting his hips up against Erwin. As soon as Levi successfully undid the clasp of his pants, Erwin hooked his thumbs into his waistband and pushed his pants and underwear off, depositing them somewhere to the side of the bed.

“Oh, God.” Levi said, his eyes fixed on Erwin’s cock, dragging his hands down Erwin's chest towards his erection, but the alpha caught his wrist.

"Did I say you could touch me, omega?” he growled.

"Don't tease. Please, I can't... I want to touch you." Levi pouted.

Erwin grinned at him, “I know what you want, Levi. He rucked up the shirt Levi was wearing, exposing his leaking cock. Levi threw his head back and bit his lip hard when Erwin rubbed his thumb over the head. An aborted moan started before he quickly choked it off.

Suddenly, Erwin’s face was mere inches away from his own.

“Don’t. Those sounds are mine, Levi. Don’t try to keep them from me.”

He twisted his wrist while stroking Levi’s dick, and the omega obediently let himself gasp in pleasure.

“That’s right, let me know how desperate you are for it. You could come for me right now, couldn’t you? You’ve wanted this for days, and now you’re ready to lose it the second I touch you. Do you want to come, Levi?”

Levi rutted his hips up into the delicious heat of Erwin’s hand, “God, yes. Alpha, let me, please.”

Erwin stroked him faster, “Come for me, Levi.”

Instantly, Levi felt his balls tighten and his back was arching up into Erwin. He let out a long, low moan as he came all over Erwin’s hand. The alpha stroked him through his orgasm, only letting go when Levi’s breath started to even out. 

He was still coming down from his high when Erwin leaned back and smacked his thigh.

“Turn over.” He commanded as he wiped his hand on a handkerchief that had been on the bedside table.

Levi did as he was told, holding himself up on legs that were still a little weak. He flushed red as he felt Erwin staring at his ass.

Tentative hands prodded his cheeks apart, “God, Levi, you’re soaked.”

Levi’s face got even hotter at that comment. Erwin was right, he could feel his slick starting to drip down his thighs.

But his embarrassment evaporated as Erwin sunk a finger into his hole.

“Oh, alpha.” he groaned, “More, please.”

Erwin complied, adding a second finger in beside the first. “You’re already so loose for me, Levi. I could probably push right in there if I wanted. Would you like that?”

Levi groaned in response, pushing his ass back onto Erwin’s fingers.

“I could. But I like this part, Levi. I like watching you fall apart on my fingers.” To prove his point, Erwin crooked his fingers just right, pressing against the area he’d been looking for.

Levi’s arms gave out and he let out a pained shout. He was still so sensitive from his orgasm, it was almost more painful than pleasurable when Erwin stroked him there. Almost.

Erwin added a third finger and continued to abuse his prostate, alternating between lightly rubbing over it and pressing with all three fingers at once. The attention had Levi’s dick rousing once again, and before long nearly all of his oversensitivity was gone- replaced with electric desire. Being in heat did wonders for his refractory time.

He protested quietly when Erwin removed his fingers, but the alpha was already replacing them with the blunt head of his cock.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Fuck, yes. D-do it.”

Erwin pushed forward and Levi had to throw his arm forward to clench his fingers around the headboard as Erwin’s cock breached his opening. The stretch was delicious, and once Erwin was fully seated inside him, Levi reached down to take himself in hand.

But Erwin slapped his hand away, breathing heavily from the sensation of being inside Levi.

You’re going to come on my cock or not at all, you greedy thing.” And then he pulled out and rammed back into Levi.

The omega howled, throwing his head back and gripping the headboard tighter.

“God, you feel incredible, Levi.” Erwin murmured as he started thrusting in earnest. “Take it for me. So good for me.”

Levi was panting beneath Erwin, his leaking cock making an embarrassing mess on the sheets. He was so close to being sent over the edge for the second time, but it just wasn’t quite enough.

“I want your knot, Erwin. Pl-please.” he stuttered as the alpha nailed his prostate.

“I’m close, Levi. You want it? You want to be stretched wide for me?”

And Levi could feel it now, the base of Erwin’s cock swelling and dragging against his entrance each time he pulled out.

Erwin groaned and Levi felt him still behind him, and suddenly the slight swell of Erwin’s knot was rapidly expanding. spreading his hole wide while Erwin's warm cum filled him up.

“E-Erwin, it’s too much, too big, t-too…”

“Shh,” Erwin soothed, “Relax, you can take it, Levi, I know you can. Just relax.”

Levi gulped, fighting back the stinging at the corners of his eyes and trying to obey. God, it was all just too much. His cock ached and his ass hurt and…

Erwin moved, just a little, but suddenly the thickness inside of Levi was nudged right up against his prostate and Levi cried out as came all over Erwin’s sheet. Spasms of heat shot through his body, his dick twitching as each shot of seed left him.

Erwin groaned as Levi’s velvety muscles contracted around him, releasing another load of cum into his omega’s ass.

Once they were both finished, Erwin wrapped an arm across Levi’s chest and he guided him down to lying on his side, steering them away from the little puddle of cum on the sheets.

Their breathing slowly returned to normal, and Erwin looked fondly down at Levi. He looked wrecked, and it appeared as if the little omega was moments from drifting off to sleep. Erwin placed a soft kiss on Levi’s shoulder, then settled down behind him.

Levi wasn’t his. But as he pulled Levi tight against his chest and waited for his knot to go down, he almost wished he was.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, God, guys, I'm so insecure about my ability to write smut. I hope this is alright...


	6. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter touches on some issues Levi has with his biology. Although it isn't meant to be tied with gender dysphoria, it could definitely be interpreted that way. If you feel like this might be bad for your mental health, please be cautious.

Waking up was bliss. Levi felt like warmth had infused itself into his entire body, relaxing and calming the normally taut muscles. He was surrounded by the most delicious smell- a combination of what he recognized as his own natural scent and something he couldn’t quite identify.

His consciousness returned slowly, and opening his eyes took a little while. But when he finally forced his eyelids to flutter open, his paradisiacal state of mind was sullied with confusion.

He wasn’t in his bed. This wasn’t even his room. Muddled confusion was quickly replaced with panic as he caught a glimpse of a muscled arm draped over his waist. He was almost too afraid to look behind him, but he forced himself to turn his head and confirm his fears.

Erwin was behind him. His normally perfectly combed hair was flopping messily into his face, and his shoulders were bare. He looked fucked out, and Levi was terrified that he looked the same way. He didn’t feel gross, though, and when he rubbed his legs together it felt like he was wearing pants.

With the utmost care, he wriggled out from under Erwin’s arm and rolled out of the bed. He was relieved to find that he was, indeed, wearing pants. Stealthily, he crept to the door and made his way out into the hallway. Memories were starting to leak back into his mind as he went into his own room and locked the door behind him.

He remembered Erwin rejecting him again and again while he acted like a complete whore. He remembered the utter relief when Erwin finally agreed to fuck him because he pitied him. He remembered begging for Erwin’s cock. And he remembered how after all of that, Erwin had carried his pliant body into the bathtub, cleaned him up, then took him back to his bed to sleep.

Levi buried his face in his hands as the memories kept on coming back to him in vivid detail. He was never leaving this room again.

* * *

 

Erwin hadn’t seen Levi in a week. He knew that while he was at work Levi must be coming out, because food disappeared from the refrigerator and the whole house was cleaner than most hospitals.

Every morning and evening he passed Levi’s door and hesitated. Should he knock? They needed to talk about this- he understood that Levi was angry with him but if he could just explain… But each time he had almost decided to tap on the door, he remembered how Levi had been vehemently opposed to being married to him in the first place. The only reason Levi had even gone into heat was because Erwin had coerced him into complying with the Hope Act and moved him into a cesspool of alpha hormones. He’d manipulated him into marrying him, and then in Levi’s weakest moment he had taken advantage of him.

Guilt would overtake him then, and he would walk past Levi’s door without doing anything. If Levi had decided that he never wanted to see Erwin again, then he would accept that judgment.

Nine days after Erwin had woken up to find Levi gone, he came home early. After a particularly frustrating day of trying to flatter his way into the good graces of a very wealthy merchant, he decided that he deserved a few extra hours of freedom.

He went inside, and froze when he saw that Levi was in the kitchen, scrubbing intently at the tea kettle. He expected Levi to take one look at him and retreat to his bedroom, but instead it looked like the omega hadn’t even noticed the door opening.

Tentatively, Erwin hung up his coat and then entered the kitchen. Levi was still ignoring him, apparently completely absorbed in the teapot.

“Levi?” he said softly. No response.

“Levi?” he asked again, a little louder this time.

When he was ignored again, Erwin reached out a hand for the smaller man’s shoulder and repeated testily, “Levi!”

As soon as Erwin made contact with Levi’s shoulder, the omega froze. He put down the teapot and the rag in the sink, refusing to make eye contact with the larger man. He looked like he had every intention of going straight back up to his room without saying a word.

But Erwin was tired of all this evasion. He tightened his grip on Levi’s arm and spun him around so that Levi was facing him.

“We need to talk, Levi.”

Levi didn’t answer, pulling against Erwin’s hold.

Erwin didn’t let go and looked down at the other man, puzzled by his behavior. This wasn’t like Levi. His attempts to escape were half-hearted at best, and based on the one encounter they had before their marriage, Levi wasn’t one to be quiet when others were trying to tell him what to do. Erwin had expected punching, kicking, and swearing when they were finally forced to confront one another. Anything but this silent, passive attempt to just avoid the situation.

He gave Levi’s shoulders a little shake, “Levi, would you just look at me?”

Reluctantly, Levi slid his eyes up to Erwin’s face, keeping his expression perfectly neutral.

"Levi, I need you to know that I am _so sorry._ You have to understand, I was worried about you, and Hanji said that you were in danger. I didn’t know what else to do.” His excuses sounded weak to his ears when they were said aloud.

“This was never my intention, Levi. I swear on my life that I never wanted this to happen, but I recognize that intentions aren’t good enough when I so blatantly took advantage of you. I can’t expect your forgiveness, but I hope you will try to understand. I—I never wanted to be this kind of alpha.”

As Erwin talked, Levi’s expression was slowly shifting to confusion, and then to irritation. Erwin actually felt a little relieved when the other man shoved him away, finally this was closer to the Levi he had come to know.

“You really are a narcissist, aren’t you?” Levi snapped. “This isn’t about _you._ I’m not upset with _you_.”

Erwin’s brows furrowed, “You’re not?”

“Of course not, you arrogant fuckhead.”

“Then… why won’t you come downstairs when I’m home?”

Levi’s eyes narrowed, “Why do you even care? It’s not like we were chatty before this… ordeal. Nothing’s changed. Now leave me alone.”

He turned on his heel, but Erwin stopped him again, grabbing his wrist before he could get anywhere.

Levi spun back around, his eyes suddenly blazing with fury.

“Don’t fucking do that!” he snarled, yanking his hand out of Erwin’s grasp. “Don’t act like you have any right to keep me somewhere that I don’t want to be.”

The omega advanced aggressively, and even though Levi was at least a full twelve inches shorter than him, Erwin suddenly felt very threatened.

“Just because I’ve had half a dozen loads of your cum up my ass does not mean that you get to treat me like your submissive little wife.” Levi spat, his voice full of cold venom. “This doesn’t change anything. The pathetic omega whore that you fucked last week was _not me._ Do you understand? _That isn’t me._ ”

A tiny bit of understanding was starting to trickle into Erwin’s mind, “I apologize, Levi. You’re right, I have no right to make you do anything—it was not my intention to imply that I did. If you want to go back upstairs, then you’re welcome to, but I would like to talk and try to resolve this.”

Levi backed up a little, most of the violent tension leaving his body. “What the fuck is there to discuss, Erwin?” he asked, sounding exasperated.

Erwin skirted around Levi’s body and pulled out a chair to sit at the table. Levi stayed standing, and it was not lost on Erwin that this was a near recreation of their first meeting, just without quite so much hitting. Hopefully, this episode didn’t also end in him being kicked out of the house.

“I think that I’m starting to understand.” Erwin started tentatively.

Levi raised an eyebrow dubiously and didn’t answer.

“Levi, I don’t think of you any differently because of what happened. Heat is a perfectly natural physical phenomenon, and I know that it changes the way you act and think. You can’t change your biology, it’s a part of you.”

“It’s not.” Levi cut in, “That’s the problem, Erwin, now that you’ve seen me with my ass in the air, you are going to associate that with me. But I—“ Levi swallowed, “But that wasn’t me.”

Erwin nodded, “You said that earlier. I’m not an omega, Levi, and so I don’t want to act like I know how you feel. But I think I’ve been in a similar place as an alpha.”

Levi looked like he was going to interrupt, but Erwin held up a hand to stop him. “Just listen, and if you still think I’m wrong when I’ve finished, then you can tell me so.”

“Oh for fuck's sake.” Levi muttered, but he finally sat down and waited for Erwin to continue.

“I consider myself a rational person, but hormones can make me feel impulsive and violent. In the past, I have lashed out and acted in ways that I am not proud of because someone spoke to me disrespectfully or questioned my authority. Inside of me there is a dark place full of violence and… perversion, and sometimes I wish I could crush it out of existence. But it’s part of my identity, Levi. If I couldn’t accept that, than I would spend all of my time hating myself for something that I can’t change. Does that make sense?”  
           

Erwin paused, looking at Levi to see if he had anything to say, but the omega wasn’t even watching him, instead he was staring intently at the table.

“We don’t get to pick how we’re born, and we can’t stop biology. And that’s difficult to accept, but I don’t think I’d be the same person if I weren’t an alpha—and I don’t think you’d be the same either, Levi.”

Erwin waited for a response, but Levi just kept looking at the table.

The silence stretched, and Erwin got increasingly fidgety as he started to think that he’d overstepped his bounds. Again.

But just as he was about to blurt out an apology, Levi pushed his chair back and stood up.

“I’ll see you at breakfast.” And he left the table to go back to his room.

Erwin wasn’t quite sure, but he thought maybe that meant they’d made up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this one is later than usual! I'm in the last few weeks of the semester at college, and I don't have quite as much time. But after I'm finished, I should be able to return to the regular schedule. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


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